To Die Twice
by Mew Draiku
Summary: [Oneshot, Marik x Malik] Marik is dead, and using Ryou as a temporary host. He has a crush on Malik, but what happens when Malik rejects him? Character death...sort of. I suck at summaries.


MEW: Believe it or not, I actually thought a bunch about this one before I started writing it. Most of the time I'll just think up an idea (I.E. Malik dresses as a girl) and make up a story to go with it. Then I'll edit and revise the random slapped-on-the-page-in-five-minutes edition so it's longer and better. That's how I write my stories. Anyhow, since Draiku and Anonymous aren't here today, I'll have to make the disclaimer myself and not argue.

_Italics_: Thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, there would be lots of fluff and yaoi.

---

To Die Twice

Ryou was sitting at his desk, writing. He knew that Marik was hovering over him, leaning on the desk, but he tried to ignore it. Marik poked a word on the paper with a finger.

"You misspelled this word," he said. Ryou couldn't take it any more. He snarled and shot up in his seat.

"Will. You. Stop. Hovering!" he demanded. Marik rolled his eyes.

"Fine, Ryou. Whatever you want, oh wonderful, temporary hikari of mine," he said, bowing mockingly. Ryou narrowed his eyes at him. Yes, Marik was dead, and Malik wasn't his hikari at the moment. It happened right after he had gotten his own body too, and since Ryou was the only one around, he had to put himself into Ryou. He didn't remember much of his death, so Ryou had to remind him. Marik had been shot, twice, once in the chest and once in his spleen. He died on the spot, thanks to the bullet embedded deep within his heart.

Marik sat on the couch heavily and scowled slightly. _Figures that right after I get my own body I lose it,_ he thought sourly. _That kind of thing always happens._ Ryou heard his thoughts and looked over his shoulder.

"You know, it's not my fault that you're dead, so stop complaining," he said.

"Wouldn't you complain!" Marik snarled back. Ryou didn't know how to answer. He sighed and turned around in his seat, mentally giving up on Marik's attitude. Marik sighed and rested his elbow on the arm of the couch, placing his cheek on his fist. He blinked slowly and wondered what Malik would say about his death. His funeral had been just a few days ago, and Malik was there. He didn't look very sad, he looked, well, surprised would describe it best. He didn't say anything, just shook his head slowly from side to side and mumbled "I can't believe it."

Marik wondered if Malik was happy that he was dead and believed it to be a wonderful dream, or if he was just in total disbelief that Marik had died, just like that.

Worst of all, the police hadn't caught his murderer, so he wouldn't rest in peace. He couldn't even sleep, the thoughts of his death kept flooding his mind, thus making him paranoid and afraid. His eyes shifted uneasily from side to side, as if death lurked around every single corner, waiting to take him.

He secretly thought of Malik, the boy always made him content inside, for some reason. He decided that he loved Malik right before his death, but before he could even speak to Malik one last time, he was killed. He sighed sadly, closing his eyes gently. Ryou looked at him.

"You alright?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah," Marik answered, lying down with his back to Ryou. Ryou frowned slightly. He knew that Marik wasn't feeling well, but he didn't know how to help. He looked at the clock sitting on his desk.

"Marik?"

"What?"

"It's time for school."

"Okay." Marik got up and followed Ryou to the high-school glumly. They walked into the classroom and Ryou sat down, while Marik stood behind him. Malik walked into the room and took his seat next to Ryou.

"Good morning, Malik," Ryou said cheerfully. Malik smiled.

"Good morning to you, Ryou," Malik replied. Marik's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Malik smiling. An image of Malik panting and sweating popped into his mind and he blushed wildly. Ryou noticed his nervous behavior and shot him a strange look. Marik didn't notice. He just kept staring at Malik. Ryou smiled wickedly.

"You like him, don't you?" he said in a whisper, so only Marik could hear. Marik snapped out of his trance and gasped.

"I'm-I'm straight, Ryou," he stuttered. Ryou chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, right. You look at him and…well, there's a pretty impressive bulge in your pants at the moment." Ryou pointed at Marik's waist. Marik blushed even more and glared at Ryou.

"Why would you even be looking there in the first place!" he growled. Ryou cracked up laughing and fell out of his desk, disrupting class. The teacher looked at him, appalled.

"Ryou Bakura! What, if I may ask, is so funny!" he snapped. Ryou gasped and immediately stood up, bowing slightly.

"I was merely thinking of a joke, sensei," he replied respectively.

"And what was that joke?" the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryou searched through his mind as fast as he could for a funny joke.

"Um, okay, so there was this guy, and he sees a beautiful, pure-white muscular horse up for sale. He wants it really bad, so he buys it. The previous owner tells him about the horse, saying 'I trained this horse to start running when I say 'Thank God' and to stop running when I say 'Our father who art in heaven''. The man nods and takes the horse out to a wide open space to test it out. He gets on the horse, and shouts 'Thank God'! The horse takes off running. He thinks this is great, until he sees a cliff coming up ahead. He didn't remember the line to make it stop, and the horse is going too fast to jump off. He yells out every phrase from the bible until finally, he yells 'Our father who art in heaven!'. The horse skids to a stop, just inches away from the edge of the cliff. The man wipes the sweat from his brow and mutters 'Thank God'…" he said.

The class was silent for a second, until finally, someone started to snicker. Another began chuckling, then another, and finally the entire class was laughing out loud, even the teacher. Ryou sighed with relief, and Marik slapped his back warmly.

"Good one!" he said, grinning. Ryou just laughed quietly.

"Okay, Ryou, I'll let you off this time, but next time you think of a funny joke, don't fall over in your seat. You could get hurt," the teacher said, wiping a tear from his eye. Ryou was glad that he got a teacher with a good sense of humor.

---

Ryou came over to Malik's that night. They had been paired to do a research project on the U.S. Ryou groaned slightly as he read through the book.

"Well, I got a full list of the names of the states," Malik said as he looked away from the screen on his computer to Ryou. "And their capitals."

"Good, and I got some information on their history," Ryou replied. "About how they fought the British and won…blah, blah, blah…"

"Man, their states have the strangest names! Listen to this one; Ten-nes-see, and Tex-as, and even Loo-ee-zee-a-nah. Weird…" Malik muttered.

"Hmph. You're lucky you can read English. I can barely understand a few words," Ryou said, pouting.

"I can't really pronounce most of it, though," Malik said with a chuckle. Marik peered out the window and walked over to Ryou.

"We're in for a big storm tonight," he said. Ryou blinked and looked out the window. It was already quite late.

Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light and a low, rumbling boom. Rain instantly started pouring from the clouds like a waterfall.

"It'll probably let up soon," Malik said confidently.

It didn't.

They sat for a long while, the only sounds being those of the storm.

"I don't think that it's gonna let up," Ryou mumbled.

"Wanna stay the night? It's really raining out there…" Malik offered.

"Is that okay with you?" Ryou replied. Malik nodded.

"Sure! I mean, if you're sick, who's gonna do all the writing for the report?" he said with a grin. Ryou pouted, but laughed anyway.

"Thanks," he said. Malik nodded and pulled out two sleeping bags from a closet. He laid them out flat. "Aren't you going to use your bed?"

"I could, but it's not fair to have me sleeping on the big, soft comfortable bed while you get a hard floor with only a thin layer of cloth as your comfort," he replied with another grin. Ryou chuckled.

"I owe you one," he replied. They lied on the sleeping bags and chatted a little bit, and finally Malik fell asleep. Marik gazed at the bronze-skinned hikari in front of him. He reached out to stroke his face, but his hand went right through the boy's skin. He jerked his hand back and noticed that Ryou was still awake.

"Ryou," he murmured. Ryou looked at him.

"What is it?" he asked quietly, so he wouldn't wake Malik.

"C-could I…possess your body for a little bit? Please?" Ryou stared at Marik warily. "Only for a little bit. I promise that I won't do anything bad," Marik quickly added. Ryou, though still slightly suspicious, nodded.

"Alright, but only for a couple of minutes," he said in a whisper.

"Thank you," Marik muttered. He returned to Ryou's body and opened his eyes. Now he could see the back of Malik's head as he lied on the floor. Using a slender hand, he reached out and touched Malik's face gently. Malik began to mumble slightly.

"Mm…stop…Marik…don't…love…you…" Marik gasped and jerked away, murmuring an apology. Ryou could only watch Marik's expression go from longing, to extremely depressed.

Marik wanted to blip out of existence. He couldn't die again, he was already dead. But now he had nothing left to exist for. Malik continued to sleep, while Ryou returned to his body and Marik stepped out.

"S-sorry for doing that," Marik mumbled to Ryou.

"That's alright. I'm sorry, Marik," Ryou said softly. Marik shook his head, dismissing the issue, and lied down on the floor, back to Ryou and Malik. He curled his legs to his waist and wrapped his arms around his torso, wishing that he had never heard Malik's words.

---

Marik walked behind Ryou and Malik while they came home from school. He was quite glum, after all, the one he loved and cherished rejected him in his slumber. Marik sighed quietly and kicked a small insect over onto its back. He then crushed it with his foot.

_No,_ he said to himself, upon lifting his foot, revealing the smashed bug. _Don't take your hurt out on anything but yourself. Nothing will help if you harm others._ Marik definitely did not want to start down the path of maniacal homicidal madness again. He almost got killed the last time he did that.

While he looked to the sky sadly and watched the white clouds drift by, he noticed sometime glinting in the light. He looked in its direction and saw, to his horror, the last thing he saw when he died.

A rifle.

And not just any old rifle, the kind that assassins and snipers would use. Built to be extremely silent and accurate, yet swift and deadly, these weapons weren't something one would like to see one day.

And worst of all, it was aimed at Malik.

Time stopped. Marik could feel his road splitting down the middle and becoming two new ones. Should he try to save Malik's life? Or should he allow the boy to die as punishment for rejecting him?

Marik turned away from the dark, cruel road and wondered, _how can I help Malik?_

He felt warmth coming to his body again, and he realized that _he was returning to life_. Just when the gun jerked, Marik sprinted in front of Malik and spread his arms wide, protecting the object of his compassion.

The bullet felt like burning ice. It slipped in through his skin and burst through his stomach, then exited through his back. He stumbled, and finally felt the hard, cold pavement come in contact with his back. A massive reel of senses filled his body, pain was one of them, but remorse was not.

The sniper pulled the trigger on his gun again, hoping to kill the boy he was hired to kill. Alas, he didn't realize that the gun would backfire. His last thought before entering a realm of eternal darkness was _why didn't I buy the better brand?_

Malik stared in utmost horror as his suddenly-alive yami lied on the ground, creating a pool of his own blood on the cement. Marik was still alive, but his life was slipping away slowly. Marik knew that the nearest hospital was over five miles away, he was not going to make it. But he was happy. He had predicted his death right before it happened.

"Marik!" Malik and Ryou both exclaimed. Malik knelt next to Marik. "Gods, we have to get some help here!" he hissed fretfully. But Marik shook his head feebly.

"No," he whispered, "I'll die anyway. The ambulance won't get here fast enough." He coughed in pain, feeling his life slip away faster. "Malik, could I ask just one last favor of you? Please?" Malik nodded. "C-could you just hold me in your arms? You don't have to, but you'd be a lot more comfortable than the cement." Malik nodded again, tears filling his eyes. He lifted Marik's torso and wrapped his arms around his yami gently. "Thank you," Marik murmured, closing his eyes in content.

"Don't go, please," Malik begged in a barely audible mumble. Marik smiled at him gently.

"It won't be so bad. I would never not put my life in front of yours. I…I love you. Gods, Malik, I'm so sorry."

"Why?" Malik asked, his tears now flowing without restraint.

"I know that you don't love me back. You told me, in one sentence. But I'll always love you, no matter what." Marik reached up with a hand weakly and touched Malik's cheek, caressing the flesh. "And before I go, I just want to tell you that you're…well, beautiful. It's no wonder that those girls ogle you all the time." He opened his eyes and gazed at Malik lovingly. "And I'll…miss you, Malik. I'll miss you a lot. Good-bye, Malik…I love you." And then Marik closed his eyes a final time, and let his body shut down, again.

Malik sobbed and held Marik's still-warm body close, letting all of his tears escape his eyes.

"Come back, please," he whispered, "please come back."

Ryou knelt next to Malik and did his best to comfort the boy, but failed.

"I can't believe that he actually thought that," he heard Malik murmur.

"Thought what?" Ryou asked softly.

"That I didn't love him. I loved him with all of my heart, and now he's gone without even knowing! What did I say to him, Ryou? You were there!" Malik asked, looking at Ryou through his tear-filled eyes.

"You…you said… 'stop, Marik, don't love you' in your sleep, while Marik was using my body to hug you," Ryou said. He regretted his words when Malik started sobbing again.

"I can't believe it. I'm so horrible! I shouldn't have said such a thing to him. I never meant to, will he ever forgive me?" Malik cried.

"I'm sure that he already has. If he didn't, he wouldn't have taken the bullet for you," Ryou said, hoping that it would cheer Malik up a bit. It didn't.

"It should have been me! That bullet was meant for me!" And Malik let out a string of curses about the sniper and how he should have died instead of Marik. He continued to cry until the ambulance finally came and took Marik's body away.

---

One year later

Malik looked to his calendar and immediately held his head in his hands, crying softly. It was the anniversary of Marik's second death today. It was on this day that Marik was shot by a sniper while saving Malik's life. It was on this day that Marik admitted his love to Malik.

Malik looked out the window and saw an exceptionally bright star shining in the night sky. He wondered if it was Marik, watching over him. He wished that Marik would suddenly return from the heavens and hold him in his arms, whispering comforting words that promised that he would always stay with Malik and never leave him again. Sadly, Malik knew that it was impossible, and another miracle wouldn't come to him anytime soon.

---

_B-bmp_

Marik felt something odd in his chest.

_B-bmp_

It was familiar, but from a very long time ago.

_B-bmp_

Now it felt stronger, more lively.

_B-bmp_

He opened his eyes, and felt his blood heat up.

_B-bmp_

He took in a sharp breath of air, realizing that what was happening to him was a miracle.

_B-bmp_

His heart was beating.

_B-bmp_

His breathing had started again.

_B-bmp_

His blood was circulating once more.

_B-bmp_

He was alive.

_B-bmp, b-bmp_

His heart had started to beat faster now that he knew that his life had returned.

_B-bmp, b-bmp_

And he knew what he was going to do next.

_B-bmp, b-bmp_

He fell from his resting place in the sky and through the atmosphere of the earth, his pure-white wings shielding him from catching on fire in the thermosphere.

_B-bmp, b-bmp_

He unfurled his wings and glided to the surface of a very familiar place. Soon, his wings blew away into mere feathers and he knew that he was really alive.

---

Malik was sitting in his room, staring out one window longingly. He heard a small tapping on the screen door that led to a small balcony on his room. He walked over to it slowly, figuring that it was his imagination. He opened the door, muttering a "hello?".

His eyes widened in stupidity, shock, and happiness at the same time.

Marik was sitting on the edge of the balcony, a sweet smile on his most handsome face.

Malik felt himself grinning. He felt his heart beat faster, and he simply stood, staring at Marik.

"Tell me, is this a wonderful dream? Or is it real?" he asked, begging the gods to let it be real. Marik shrugged.

"I dunno. Wanna check?" he replied with a smirk. He, like Malik, was bursting with joy, but he didn't want Malik to know until later.

Malik nodded, and Marik pulled him into a tight hug and a gentle, loving kiss. Malik was in pure ecstasy. Marik was hugging him, and _kissing_ him. And best of all, he could feel it. This wasn't a dream. Marik had really returned.

They pulled away, gazing into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Malik," Marik mumbled, caressing Malik's cheek in one hand. Malik smiled and did the same.

"I love you too, Marik," he replied in a soft, soothing voice. They pulled together again, kissing passionately, both blissfully happy with their lives.

End

Mew: Phew! That was fun (yet hard) to write! Sorry the beginning kinda sucks (and so does the end, really). Please R&R! I love hearing what you think of my stories! (Even though this is only the second…oh well.)


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